March 21, 2012

awesome DC tourist thing: DC by segway!

a few months ago, one of the various local groupon-type sites had a deal for a segway tour of DC. i pounced on it immediately and sent an eager email out to friends asking who wanted to go with me.

i was met with a deafening chorus of withering looks and raised eyebrows.

..except for from my (clearly awesome) friend Olivia, who excitedly agreed to join me. segways! zipping around the DC monuments! how could this NOT be great?

i mean, sure, it's a super cheesy touristy thing to do. that doesn't make it less fun, people.

it's surprisingly hard to actually be STILL on a segway. since the slightest forward pressure or forward lean propels you forward - and same for backward - it's hard to actually be completely still. after learning how to use the segways (whee!) off we zipped to Capitol Hill. we got there right as the sun was setting across the mall, behind the Washington Monument.

the light reflected back on the Capitol was insane.

it's hard to take a really bad picture when the light is that good.

after the group waited for me to scurry all around the plaza taking pictures, we hopped back onto our segways and zipped effortlessly down the length of the mall to the Washington Monument. (such a fabulous form of transportation!) we got there right as the sun dipped below the horizon, leaving the clouds still illuminated in the sky.

at this juncture, we had a slightly tragic accident involving one of the couples in our group, an inter-segway collision, and a crash, which left the gal shaken up and bleeding a bit. as a result, we stayed in front of the monument until the sky darkened enough for the Monument to become lit from below:

..before zooming around to the base to snap another night picture, this time with some of the cherry blossoms ubiquitous at this time of year:

Paris is, rightfully, nicknamed the City of Lights for the gorgeous nighttime illumination of its buildings & monuments... but honestly, DC does a pretty OK job of it too.

i TOTALLY recommend a segway tour if you're in town (or even if you're a local) - as long as you can get past the admittedly dorky helmets.

I am 99 percent sure I am far too clumsy to operate a Segway without a major accident. If it's possible to fall off a Segway, break my bones and then be run over by that same Segway, that's what would happen to me. But I love that YOU did this and your pictures are fab! Yay you!

I would TOTALLY do a Segway tour--I've wanted to drive one of those things for forever! We used to see them around Chicago so often we came up with a name for a group of them (like a murder or crows, etc). A Lean of Segways, because you lean to make them move, get it? I'll just be waiting over here for my Nobel.

I totally did a tour when I lived in D.C. -- and it was awesome! So glad you enjoyed. I had a near-death experience too, so while I'm sorry for the girl in your group, I'm also quite relieved to know that I'm not alone...

I'll admit it: we have laughed before at seeing Segway tourists... but I think we were secretly envious. I'm glad to know they are difficult to keep still, because I've always suspected that I would crash one of those into someone/something. My sympathies to the one in your group who had that experience...

Great pictures! But I am wondering where the cherry blossom pictures are in daylight!!! Pretty please??